Starting Pitchers

Edwin Jackson (8-16, 4.75 ERA, 3.62 FIP)

versus

Julio Teheran (12-8, 3.14 ERA, 3.77 FIP)

Atlanta Braves Lineup

(Due to my travels today, I had to write this up long before the actual lineups were released. So this is yesterday’s lineup. If someone is so inclined, they could post the actual lineups when they are released.)

1. Andrelton Simmons, SS

2. Justin Upton, RF

3. Freddie Freeman, 1B

4. Chris Johnson, 3B

5. Evan Gattis, LF

6. Gerald Laird, C

7. Dan Uggla, 2B

8. B.J. Upton, CF

9. Julio Teheran, P

Chicago Cubs Lineup

(Due to my travels today, I had to write this up long before the actual lineups were released. So this is yesterday’s lineup. If someone is so inclined, they could post the actual lineups when they are released.)

we shoud trade darwin bernie for justin upton.i know bernie is good, but just think.. kate upton will come with j. LOL

Frank

Trade Barney for a years supply of snow cones and a bottle of Thunderbird.

Frank

The Cubs are on tv today and the Bears are on tonight, nice Sunday.

kuvihorken

+breaking bad. OHHHH YEAHHHHH

waittilthisyear

plus the packers are down early

http://. Sven-Erik312

Completely off topic, I know. But, “42” is at last available on DVD & Bluray here in Sweden. Even my Swedish wife loved it, she has been mesmerized by it. What a great film, that’s all I can say about it, just great. It was not shown in theaters here, but according to a video store guy I talked to recently, it’s a top 10 rental here.That’s great, considering how few people here have even heard the name Jackie Robinson. Some Swedish journalist actually went to the Southern States and wrote a book on the Civil Rights Movement. I read his book back in 2010 and sent him email asking him why he never even mentioned the name Jackie Robinson, in two years, he has never answered me. I ought to send him a registered mail DVD of the film. What a chump.
Come on Jax, how ’bout a no hitter tonight!!!!!!!!!

Internet Random

Racist.

Eternal Pessimist

A very important part of American History, and Robinson faced tremendous difficulty and racism and succeeded despite it…but the movie truly sucked and was about as dull as could be. Just putting my movie critic hat on in as honest a way as possible. A much more enjoyable (though fictional) depiction of racism in America was the movie “The Help”, and many others of course.

cavemencubbie

Somehow I have the feeling, I will be trying to find the worm in my jug of Mezcal. I think we will find both the Cubs and Bears in hibernation and the scores depressing. It must be the fall equinox, my mind telling me to wait for spring, a new beginning and chili being planted.

http://Bleachernation Oliver

Edwin Jackson…4.75 ERA
8 and 16.
WOW nice addition, and we didn’t have a few young guys that could
Pitch that well ..that’s hard for me to believe. Maybe we could pick up
A couple of pitchers with recent Tommy John Surgery.. Oh wait we already did that .
The jury is still put on this whole bunch..certainly they are a question mark at best.
I am seeing far to much arrogance.

Frustrated and discusted

TWC

It’s hard to be Oliver sometimes, isn’t it?

MichiganGoat

Find yourself a nice imperial stout and all will be okay

kscubfan

Add some ribs and some slaw you might even get some friends to join in.

sven-erik312

I had a great double malt in Vienna last weekend, Gösser Dark as I recall. Great stuff.

ClevelandCubsFan

Look closer.

Edwin Jackson 3.62 FIP
Julio Teheran 3.77 FIP

Look closer…

Jackson:
3.87 xFIP
2.3 K/BB
FIP- 94
BABIP .317
2.3 WAR

Teheran:
3.80 xFIP
FIP- 92
BABIP .288
2.2 WAR

In short, today’s matchup looks by traditional stats to be a huge mismatch. But when we dig deeper, we realize Edwin Jackson has been slightly better than average this year. In fact, he and Teheran are roughly equal in the advanced metrics with a slight nod to Jackson.

I think the Cubs believed Edwin Jackson was underrated. I think the Cubs got about what everyone should expect from Edwin Jackson. A solid, above average pitcher. Some of the old-time stats just don’t make that as obvious.

Gutshot5820

I know old time stats are somewhat diminished in favor of more saber friendly stats, but I just can’t believe by any sort of measurement that Jackson hasn’t sucked immensely this year. I mean you can keep trying to spew out stats to show Jackson hasn’t been terrible, but wow there has to be some sort of accountability to keep your team in the game and make consistent quality starts. You can stick your fip up you know where when it comes to Jackson. It’s no small sample size. he has been terrible this year. and you can show me all the meaningless statistics you want. Hopefully, he pitches better next year.

Bill

Again no Lake or Watkins in todays lineup.And Sveum wonders why he is going to get fired.

TOOT

He said “Golly”, what more you want? Sheesh.

ClevelandCubsFan

Lake is starting in LF.

BlameHendry

Can we please just permanently bench Jackson for the rest of his contract?

TOOT

What? He that’s our TOP free agent signing! What chu talkin bout?

Gutshot5820

Ryne Sanberg is no longer interim manager. 3 Yr Contract with a fourth option. I’m not a big fan of Sandberg as a manager but I wouldn’t have minded either. I’m sure as a leader he would have been great and we could have hired a bench coach that was more saber-metrically inclined to help with shifts and what-not. Oh well, one more year of Sveum.

Die hard

Shoulda coulda woulda been a contenda with Ryno

Die hard

Jackson to be allowed to throw up to 150 pitches before Sveum blinks

Gutshot5820

Kiss of Death!

“Not being so aggressive at the plate, cutting down on two strikes, and the willingness to drive the ball up the middle and hit the outfield grass with men in scoring position [are some things he needs to work on],” Sveum said about Lake.

Dammit, just leave the players alone. Stop meddling with their hitting and let the hitting coach do their jobs, This is the main reason I don’t want Sveum Back.

Strikeouts are really becoming an issue with Lake. He’s up to 27% on the year. If he has any shot of starting long term, that’ll have to come down at least 6-7 points.

TOOT

Really? He is the ONLY .300 hitter for the Cubs.

MichiganGoat

I feel the need to say something about BA being a horrible way to measure success… but why even bother. ALL HAIL BATTING AVERAGE! THE ONLY STAT WE NEED!

hansman1982

Nope, after his 0-4 performance today, he isn’t a .300 hitter anymore.

MichiganGoat

But TOOT said it so it’s what I believe, TOOT 2014.

TOOT

There is more reason to believe he will be the hitter he has displayed. Hansman. i am really suprised by your comment. Now we’re going by a !DAY performance?

hansman1982

no, just that his BA is now .299

TOOT

I really don’t see it going south of .280 at worst. Just saying. Who is better right now? ot being smart just asking. Again, betwween the core or suspected core.

MichiganGoat

Agreed TOOT perfect response

Steve

Congrats to the Atlanta Braves. Eastern Division Champs. Only 2 losing seasons since 1991 plus 17 playoff appearances in 22 seasons. Epstein should take a look and see how the Atlanta organization is operated. They must be doing something right!!!!

http://Bleachernation Oliver

This management is sick.
Their style is not working.
There proceedures do not work.
Pickem off the waiver wire, that will work.
Don’t bring up the young guys…because what Atlamta and a few of the other
Teams do obviously doesn’t work. Gotta give bring them up to AAA then make sure
They stay there for a year.. Because obvious after
They have a year at AAA. We will know when they are ready because we are
Absolutely certain what we do is correct..come on , don’t confuse what we are doing
With arrogance.. Really… Time to through this management group under the bus.

65 years of this is to much

Joe

Yea so lets go back to the same way it was run for the previous 65 years then? Brilliant!!

Kyle

That’s still a silly concept.

The Cubs were not run a single way for 65 years, and this isn’t the first time in that time period they’ve been run this way.

DarthHater

We need to go back to the way things were run in 1908, beginning with the mascot:

If you by that you mean the Cubs were often hapless for 65 years then yes. But I’d take lovable hapless over cynically self-destructive. This year was not fun. Theo is not a fun man.

Eternal Pessimist

Take Atlanta’s team and “strip ‘em naked” to where the Cubs were two years ago, and lets see Atlanta put a winner out there. Atlanta has not (in recent years) faced the sort of mismanagement the Cubs were stuck with for so many years.

Kyle

The Cubs weren’t naked.

Eternal Pessimist

Figuratively depleted in the minors and majors then.

Hansman

They had a pair of bloomers.

Die hard

Sveum let him go 109 pitches– should’ve let him go at least 130 so Jax could get anger out of system — sorry to see Castro hit 20 errors again and he’s still in the batting rabbit hole 🐇🐇🐇

MichiganGoat

Die hard you should join the TOOT 2014 team, maybe as Pitching Coach.

Die hard

Over qualified

MichiganGoat

Then GM?

Die hard

That job to be open in 2 yrs … may consider… ESPN just showed Braves smoking celebration cigars in visiting clubhouse — team to be fined $50000 is my guess as that is prohibited as fire hazard and against MLB rules prohibiting inhaling dangerous substances

DarthHater

Best Post of the Day Award!

DarthHater

If inhaling dangerous substances is prohibited, how can MLB allow two teams to play in Los Angeles?

Brainiac

That 17th loss couldn’t have happened to a more deserving mediocrity.

DarthHater

Alas, there aren’t enough games left for a shot at the coveted 20-loss season.

Die hard

If Cubs had Jumbotron today would they have congratulated Braves with some sort of fireworks? Good losers do but since Cubs won’t get Jumbotron until Rooftoppers agreement expires in 7 years won’t be a concern for awhile — other teams do though

Eternal Pessimist

Why do all your posts read like a fortune cookie? I can’t help but read them with a Chinese accent.

This whole novelty of the start from scratch and build being new is really stupid. Green and Goldsberry did it, Himes was brought in to do it, Lynch was supposed to do it, Andy was brought and tried to do it, and Hendry tried very hard to do it. What is even more bizarre and obscene to a point of bitter irony, the man most responsible for the disaster of the last few years, Kenney , is still there apparently whispering in Ricketts ear. This more than anything else is a weakness in Tom to watch. Kenney is a bad bad apple.

That’s not a knock on Theo. What is new is how much asset they have actually brought to bare on development and how much they are utilizing saber metrics or metric analysis. One thing else to watch about the approach, to work in development you have to have incredible minor league teaching. While I have and continue to complimentary about the minors, I still am not convinced they have great fundamental teachers which is a hallmark of a winning institution at any level.

The real test for the Cubs is now after 4 years of vomit and people puking everywhere. Clearly fans are starting to get very restless and maybe even more problematic the media is starting to make fun of them in Chicago, not so much outside of Chicago. So how long Ricketts can stomach this is important. The other thing is whether they stick to this or start scapegoating people this early.

Hansman

So what players did Kenney bring in? I remember that one draft he ran. He selected a kicker 1.1.

wvcubsfan

Crane Davis?

Hansman

Betty Davis?

http://It'searly Mike F

Kenney was the one to leverage up the Cubs by neglecting the minors and putting all the eggs in the fa baskets before even Zell. Kenney is also thought to be behind the Soriano and other fa acquisitions. Its hard to excuse him he was involved in bringing most of the fa in. He gets a pass from the media because he has always talked to them.

Hansman

Wow, so the guy in charge of he business side was signing players?

I’ve literally never heard any of this before.

wvcubsfan

Really, that was the huge message board rumor a few years ago. Some wanted to blame Kenney, some Hendry, and others Zell/Tribune. I really never have understood the hate he gets from the fans though.

http://It'searly Mike F

we have to be serious here. He was the boss through the Tribune and Zell. All be it, Zell probably had a stronger hand, but people can’t seriously believe he was an innocent bystander. And just for a moment, if he were, worse yet he’s a detached idiot. He is a corporate survivor and weasel, and oh, his big contribution is to have effectively managed the Wrigley rebuild through the maize of City Government twice, lol……

Hansman1982

I hope he was an innocent bystander. His job is to maximize revenues not maximize games won.

Anything else was a failure by the baseball side to manage their side of the house.

Hansman1982

And considering the ricketts family business experience they must feel he is the best man for the job. If not, he’d have been replaced a long time ago.

http://It'searly Mike F

I would say that is highly debatable as they too have made tons of mistakes when it comes to the Cubs and the City. I will give you they know IB, but not sure baseball. Also, even though it is dubious, he’s likely there for institutional memory and a security blanket of sorts.

Hendry when Ricketts came in ran a hell of draft in 2011 with little dept strength. And before the Tribune got into trouble and pulled Minor money to window dress, he always was know for his player development skills in organizations that do exactly like people say they want. It is inescapable people spend way too much time blaming Hendry who became the goat.

TOOT

Please sum it up in a couple sentences. Can’t really figure what the yourpoint is.

Hansman1982

Eh, other than Hendry the only other person of blame seems to have been McDonohough (or however the hell you spell that). He at least made sense kenney does not.

The reason he doesn’t is because he is in charge of a different line o business within the cubs organization. He may consult (or at least in the old regime) on players value to the business side but to say he was signing players is just dumb.

TSB

Before the season started, it was common knowledge that the Cubs were rebuilding, and would stink. As soon as the season started, and to this day, people commenting here are shocked, simply shocked that the cubs stink and are rebuilding!

http://It'searly Mike F

In hindsight that argument can be made, but I think it is a flawed one. If it was a lost season before it started, why throw 80M at Sanchez? Why give Jackson 52M? No I think Theo has miscalculated and now has put a lot pressure on Sveum at exactly the wrong time. The key thing now should have been to lose as much as you can to get better draft positioning if it was over before it started. Instead Sveum and his coaches have worked harder than they get credit for to win games they shouldn’t all to save their jobs.

I think Theo also consistently has over analyzed and micro managed some of his young talent. It is a huge mistake to try to make someone something they aren’t, and I think that is exactly what he has he done with Castro. I like and support Theo, but Sveum shouldn’t be held to account for Theo missing this one on Castro, he simply doesn’t fit with this regime.

Brain

In retrospect of the past 2 years, Theo’s tendency to micromanage everything has completely failed in every way on the major league level. But he’s put together a good minor league system. God help his OCD soul if that minor league strength doesn’t translate into major league success. He’ll just be the guy who gutted the team to maximize profits and created a new dark age in Chicago baseball.

#23

Changing the entire organization from top to bottom will obviously take some time. Until then, we will have to put up with the negative comments from those who want everything to happen now. This front office is the best I have seen overseeing the Cubs in my lifetime as a cub fan. The results aren’t there yet obviously, but for the most part, they are running things the way they should be run. I remember when the Braves stunk for years before finally putting it all together for extended success. The FO is following the same blueprint.

YourResidentJag

Problem is so is everyone else in the division and they have a big time headstart on the Cubs.

cub2014

If the cubs sign Choo trade for CarGo
sign a starter. They would still need to
fill holes at 3 places: 3B,2B,1 OF spot
so you need 3 of the 6 to hit. Baez,Bryant
Alcantera,Almora,Soler or Olt. I think if
a couple of these rookies hit and you
make these transaxtions you are a
contender.

Kyle

That’s survivor’s bias. Lots of other teams stunk for a while and then stunk some more, or stunk for awhile and then had middling results.

#23

I don’t get the defeatist comments. What’s the point? Should they fire the front office and start over again? The rebuild is working, just look at the improvement in the minors. No one ever said they would win a championship within 2 years. They are making the right changes for the most part.

cub2014

I’m sure its already been discussed, but
CarGo may be available and the Rockies
are interested in Arrieta as part of the return.
I say bring it on, along with Choo. Show me
the OBP!!!

#23

I think it would be a huge mistake to trade Arrieta. He has a shot at being a great #2 starter if not an eventual ace. He isn’t going anywhere this offseason. They knew what they were doing when they traded for both Arrieta and Strop. As I said at the time of the trade, that was one of the best trades of the year.

cub2014

Great trade but if you could turn Arrieta
into CarGo that makes the feldman trade
even better. Arrieta has great stuff just
like Samardija but so far they are 3-4
starters at best.

wvcubsfan

What would be the huge mistake is refusing to trade him if the return was a proven MLB all star.

#23

I’d rather give Arrieta a year to see what he can do. There will be time to develop a potent offense, but the first priority will be to continue building a strong rotation. I think Arrieta is a building block to such a strong rotation and I would be very hesitant to trade him at this time. Just my opinion.

Hansman

I dunno. CarGo scares me in trading too much away for him. His career home/road splits are scary. He’d be a good addition to the team but considering Colorado will begin the ask at Baez+, I’m not sure.

#23

I agree, not that I wouldn’t like to see him on the team, but at what cost?

Soda Popinski

Agreed 100%. The cost will almost certainly be too much. Also with you on the split stats.

cub2014

According to an article on another log
Arrieta-Schierholtz-1B like Vogelbach
we would get CarGo and a pitching
prospect back.

cub2014

“another blog”

Soda Popinski

Where did you read that, cub? Seems a little too good to be true.

cub2014

Rockies are looking at rebuilding:
need a starter and 1B (helton retiring)
maybe they are worried about finger
injury. its been on Cubs Den over the
last week or so.

That’d be livable and I thin worst case on Cargo would be this year’s Schierholtz.

However, I think the Rockies could do MUCH better than that.

http://It'searly Mike F

No I never said that and never have to fire everyone. I think he putting Dale on island has been counter productive. The goal once the traded people in July, should have been practice and lose, simply put. There is a real bi-polar mentality. People seem to take the attitude its like magic, lose enough and you’ll eventually win, but in the meantime hold the manager responsible for player irresponsibility and frankly some front office miscues. I’m for firing no one except Rowson and assistants and beefing up the fundamental minor league hitting instruction. Well other than Kenney that is terms of firing.

The other thing, I do think it is critical to adjust their plan if it is 5-7 year losing thing. It needs adjustment anyway, because frankly they read way too much into Castro that simply with what they ask of players isn’t there. Rizzo too is an open question, but it is too early to make judgements. One of things about plans, they often require adjustments and they need to look more at the players than firing Sveum in my view.

SenorGato

He has a shot at being a great #2 starter if not an eventual ace.
———————————————————————————

That shot is not particularly good for any reason.

#23

The stuff is definitely there. Give him a chance.

Blublud

“He has a shot ar bring a #2 starter”

So does my son.

wvcubsfan

copy paste fail

Blublud

Lol. Nah. I think it’s time for a new phone. My phone screen sticks a lot, or doesn’t register some letters when I type. The auto correct kicks in. So unless I proof read and go behind myself like I did on this post, then my spelling and grammer looks really bad.

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